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Colossal squid preparations

Preparations for the colossal squid thaw are well underway, with construction of a temporary tank with a capacity to hold 10,000 litres of preservative. The tank is being built by Te Papa’s building services team and is 6.5 m long by 2 m wide. The logistics for moving the frozen squid are being worked out and tested by the Te Papa project team lead scientists Bruce Marshall and Chris Paulin, assisted by lead technician Mark Fenwick. We are freezing a replica block of ice which will be taken out of the freezer tomorrow to try out different methods of how we can handle a half tonne squidsicle!